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Dunia anak-anak penuh warna. |
Flowers are Red
The little boy went first day of school
He got some crayons and he started to draw
He put colors all over the paper
For colors was what he saw
And the teacher said, "What you doin' young man?"
"I'm paintin' flowers" he said
She said, "It's not the time for art young man
And anyway flowers are green and red"
"There's a time for everything young man
And a way it should be done
You've got to show concern for everyone else
For you're not the only one"
And she said, "Flowers are red young man
And green leaves are green
There's no need to see flowers any other way
Than the way they always have been seen"
But the little boy said
"There are so many colors in the rainbow
So many colors in the morning sun
So many colors in the flower and I see every one"
Well the teacher said, "You're sassy
There's ways that things should be
And you'll paint flowers the way they are
So repeat after me"
And she said, "Flowers are red, young man
And green leaves are green
There's no need to see flowers any other way
Than the way they always have been seen"
But the little boy said
"There are so many colors in the rainbow
So many colors in the morning sun
So many colors in the flower and I see every one"
The teacher put him in a corner
She said, "It's for your own good
And you won't come out 'til you get it right
And are responding like you should"
Well finally he got lonely
Frightened thoughts filled his head
And he went up to the teacher
And this is what he said
And he said
"Flowers are red, and green leaves are green
There's no need to see flowers any other way
Than the way they always have been seen"
Time went by like it always does
And they moved to another town
And the little boy went to another school
And this is what he found
The teacher there was smilin'
She said, "Painting should be fun
And there are so many colors in a flower
So let's use every one"
But that little boy painted flowers
In neat rows of green and red
And when the teacher asked him why
This is what he said
And he said
"Flowers are red, and green leaves are green
There's no need to see flowers any other way
Than the way they always have been seen"
(from : www.metrolyrics.com)
Lagu ini berkisah tentang seorang anak yang di hari
pertama masuk sekolah menggambar bunga-bunga dengan beragam warna yang berbeda.
Gurunya menilai bahwa bunga yang digambarnya salah. Seharusnya, dia memberi
warna merah pada bunga dan hijau untuk daun, seperti yang selalu mereka lihat.
Si anak protes, dia meneruskan menggambar sesuai imajinasinya. Hingga, guru itu
menghukumnya. Akhirnya, anak itu menerima permintaan sang guru bahwa “bunga berwarna merah dan daun berwarna
hijau.” Si anak melakoninya terus menerus, sampai melanjutkan sekolah ke
tempat lain.
Puisi karya Harry Chapin dan kisah di atas mengingatkan
saya pada sebuah pengalaman masa kecil. Saat itu, saya duduk di bangku Sekolah
Dasar. Suatu hari, murid-murid mendapat tugas menggambar pemandangan alam. Saya
membuat gambar dengan warna-warna yang nyeleneh,
tidak lazim menurut standar warna yang normal. Berikut ini detil warna dalam
gambar yang saya buat : awan berwarna ungu kehitaman, bunga-bunga berwarna
biru, daun-daun penuh warna kuning tua dan merah hati. Aneh! Mungkin, begitu
komentar sebagian orang.
Akibatnya, wali saya dipanggil ke sekolah. Guru
menggambar menyarankan agar saya dibawa ke dokter mata. Saya dikhawatirkan
mengidap penyakit buta warna! Olala.... Akhirnya, terjadi dialog di antara
sesama orang dewasa tersebut. Wali saya menjelaskan bahwa pada kondisi tertentu
awan mendung memang muncul berwarna ungu (kelabu) plus kehitam-hitaman. Di luar
negeri, ada bunga-bunga yang berwarna biru. Spesies tanaman puring daunnya
banyak yang berwarna kuning, oranye atau kemerahan. Nah, saya tidak buta warna
bukan?!
Roda kehidupan terus melaju. Zaman demi zaman berlalu.
Dahulu, seorang anak yang kreatif kadang-kadang justru dianggap ‘berbeda’ dan
kurang mampu diterima lingkungannya. Alhamdulillah, di masa kini sistem
pendidikan di negara kita sudah banyak berubah. Namun, sistem dan pola belajar
mengajar di sekolah tentu perlu terus ditingkatkan. Model pendidikan di masa
kecil saya rata-rata bercorak factory
style (zaman pabrik) dengan pola pembelajaran satu arah, bercorak
doktriner. Di akhir fase belajar, ada
quality control bernama ujian nasional. Guru mengajar di depan kelas,
murid-murid menghafalkan materi pelajaran. Jawaban ujian cenderung harus sama
seperti yang diajarkan. Kreativitas anak didik relatif kurang ditumbuhkan.
Alhamdulillah, semangat
menumbuhkan kreativitas di dunia pendidikan kini semakin berkembang. Banyak
sekolah baru bermunculan, mengusung kurikulum dan metode belajar yang semakin
berkualitas, menyenangkan dan memberdayakan siswa berikut segala potensi
kreativitas yang dimilikinya. Semoga generasi baru ini kelak mekar menjadi
bunga yang beraneka warna di taman indah Indonesia. Biarkan bunga terlukis
beragam warna. Bunga-bunga tak melulu berwarna merah. Seperti halnya cita-cita
masa kecil, tak semuanya harus menjawab : “Presiden!”
*) Surabaya, 23 Juli 2013.
~ Tulisan ini didedikasikan untuk anak-anak
Indonesia, “Selamat Hari Anak Nasional! Nikmatilah keceriaan masa anak-anakmu.
Lukislah impianmu dalam beragam warna, seindah pelangi di angkasa." ^_^